Dmvv Bhartiy Mahila Shakti Foundation

Our small setup is located in Kohaladda, which is part of Topchanchi. Arjala Mukherjee handles the day-to-day things here. It is mostly about helping the women in this area find their footing. We don't have a huge staff or anything fancy. It is just a local effort. Topchanchi is a quiet place most of the time. We sit together and talk about the problems women face in their homes and work. Sometimes the electricity goes out and we just sit in the shade. We aren't trying to change the whole world overnight. We just want to help the ladies in our neighborhood. The name is long but we usually just say we are from the foundation. People stop by Arjala’s place to ask for advice or just to vent. It feels more like a community center than a real office. We use simple notebooks to keep track of what we do. No computers for us yet. The focus is on strength, hence the name Shakti. It is hard work sometimes because people can be stubborn. But we keep going because we live here too. This is our home and these are our people. We don't put up posters everywhere. Word of mouth is how most people find out about us in Kohaladda. It’s just how things work in this part of the country. We keep some tea ready for whoever walks in.